Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a foldable device including a flexible display.
Description of the Related Art
A portable foldable device (hereinafter, referred to as a mobile device) such as a communication terminal, a game console, a multimedia device, a portable computer, or a photographing apparatus generally includes a display device that displays image information and an input unit such as a keypad. Many mobile devices have a foldable structure that may be folded into a smaller size in order to improve the portability thereof. In such mobile devices, two bodies are connected to each other via the foldable structure. Since a related art display device is not foldable, the display device may be arranged on one of two bodies. Hence, it may difficult to implement a large display device to a mobile device having a foldable structure.
Along with the development of a flexible and bendable display device, there have been attempts to implement the display device to a mobile device having a foldable structure. In this case, since the flexible display may be arranged over two bodies to cross over the foldable structure, a large screen may be provided. However, although the flexible display may be bent, if the flexible display is sharply bent, the flexible display may be damaged. Hence, a curved portion having a predetermined curvature is formed at the center of the flexible display when the flexible display folds.
Therefore, the foldable device using a flexible display may need to provide a structure that accommodates a curved portion of the flexible display while the foldable device is being folded, and may need to support the curved portion of the flexible display to be flat while the foldable device is being unfolded.